Sponsoring my Korean wife for permanent residency

[Rob_TO]

One more question, I have seen it be recommended to use a lawyer to make sure everything is right? Is that more so for complicated cases? Ive looked through the documents and it doesn't seem THAT confusing and a lot of answers seem to be on this forum or CIC is a call away.

Thanks!

I would recommend the opposite - do NOT use a lawyer. Lawyers should only be used for complex cases such as ones involving criminal or inadmissibility issues. Not to mention there are countless cases here where (not so good) lawyers/consultants have messed up and caused people extra delays.

For a straightforward app, you can definitely do the whole thing yourself, and any questions on any area of the app just ask to this forum.

 

[NRSY]

Rob_TO thanks for the advice once again!!

 

[floomy]

he is here on a working holiday visa that last until the middle of August 2016 (not renewable).

he can apply for work permit with LMIA form his work (if his work is willing to do that)
then he can work while he is waiting for his pr (outland app).

 

[NRSY]

thanks floomy for the advice! however i dont think his job with a working holiday visa would be the type of place to do that!

With the inland application, does anyone know if it usually does take the full 26 months? or are there sometimes faster wait times?

Ive seen on here some of the outland applications go MUCH faster than the 16 months ... so just wondering if thats the same as inland?

Still having such a hard time deciding what route to go! just because of the work permit that comes with inland...

 

[Rob_TO]

thanks floomy for the advice! however i dont think his job with a working holiday visa would be the type of place to do that!

With the inland application, does anyone know if it usually does take the full 26 months? or are there sometimes faster wait times?

Ive seen on here some of the outland applications go MUCH faster than the 16 months ... so just wondering if thats the same as inland?

Still having such a hard time deciding what route to go! just because of the work permit that comes with inland...

Outland and inland times posted are completely different on the CIC site.

Outland times are 80% times, meaning the majority of apps (80%) are expected to finish quicker than what's posted. 20% experience times slower than what's posted.

Inland times is more actual time. You can see they actually show the apps they are currently working on i.e. 17 months stage 1 is based on "working on applications received on May 30, 2014". You can see their actual backlog, so there is no way your app would jump to the front of that queue. The stage 2 time for inland (10 months) may have some room to be done quicker or slower. To better understand this you can go to any of the dedicated inland threads, and see the timeline there of people's actual times over the past few years.

 

[NRSY]

Thanks Rob_TO!

Very helpful.. its looking more promising to do outland, i just dont know what my boyfriend will do after August 18 2016 when his canadian WHV expires! Im going to do what you suggested and look at the specific threads for inland applications to take a look at the wait times

 

[NRSY]

Hello once again!

Quick question before I start the application process... We have decided on the outland application and my boyfriend will just go back to Korea for a couple of months if the process takes longer.

Anyway.. we are applying as common-law and some people we know have questioned whether or not we have enough supporting documents for our application to prove common-law status. They said its extremely hard to pass as common-law these days, which kind of made us a bit stressed about it (although im not sure they know/fully understand the process, and people are probably always going to say negative things)

Just wanted to run our supporting documents by some of you more experienced people to see if you think it would be enough

-letter from korean landlord stating when we both lived in the apartment from (witness from building security guard because she was so old and didnt want to go get it stamped by a lawyer .. but had building stamp on it)
-maintenance/building electricity bills from korea with both of our names
-hydro bills with boyfriends name (same address)
-internet bills with my name (same address)
-mail addressed to both of our names, as well as mail addressed to us each singly going to the same address
-lease from our apartment in canada with my boyfriend as co-habitant
-my boyfriends Canadian SIN card number is to my moms address (as well as my drivers license address - got both of those before getting our apartment)
-joint bank account (just from when we moved to canada 3 months ago as there is no such thing as a joint account in korea)
-I changed my status on CRA to common-law
-2 round trip flights bought together from korea to canada (Feb 2015, Aug 2015)
-1 round trip flight bought together with both of our names to Jeju island (Aug 2014)
-Chat logs & photos with us/with friends/family from 3 years ((2012-present)
-photos of my family with my boyfriend from when they went to visit me korea (July 2013)
-photos of our families together when his family came to visit us in Canada a couple of months ago
-his WHV documents to show that he came to canada legally i guess and has been working here and living with me
-and probably some other random things I find to add in along the way

does that seem like enough to apply as common law? I think it is enough but some people we have talked to have made me have some doubts! (although neither of them have ever applied)

Thank you! Just want to double check what you guys think before i get my hopes up

 

[NRSY]

This may be a stupid question, ive tried to look in other threads but cant seem to find an answer..

1) for IMM 0008 (Generic Application Form For Canada) ... the dependants section says that the common-law partner should be added as a dependant.. Would I put myself for this and fill this out even though I am the sponsor? (No children or anyone else involved.. just my common-law partner (principal applicant) and I (sponsor))

2) IMM 0008 - question 10 current country of residence - Its canada and I put other for WHV, and the dates should I put when his working holiday visa started to the date next year when it finishes ? (living in canada from ___ to ___ .. or would "to" be the date of application?

3) IMM 0008 asks for UCI .. is this something he should have from his working holiday visa? I cant seem to find it anywhere !

Thanks so much in advance!

 

[Rob_TO]

Anyway.. we are applying as common-law and some people we know have questioned whether or not we have enough supporting documents for our application to prove common-law status. They said its extremely hard to pass as common-law these days, which kind of made us a bit stressed about it (although im not sure they know/fully understand the process, and people are probably always going to say negative things)

Just wanted to run our supporting documents by some of you more experienced people to see if you think it would be enough

Seems like more than enough IMO. In our case we never even had a shared lease (I already owned a home with a mortgage so it was impossible to add my common-law partner until the renewal date), and it was approved no problem. Most common-law apps for visa-exempt applicants go through pretty easy as long as you have a strong application. All combined you seem to have ample proof, I wouldn't worry about it.

1) for IMM 0008 (Generic Application Form For Canada) ... the dependants section says that the common-law partner should be added as a dependant.. Would I put myself for this and fill this out even though I am the sponsor? (No children or anyone else involved.. just my common-law partner (principal applicant) and I (sponsor))

That is for different kinds of family class apps, where the person being sponsored has a common-law partner also being sponsored. In your case you do NOT need to be listed there as a dependent.

Note that section states you only need to add people "who are not already permanent residents or citizens of Canada".

2) IMM 0008 - question 10 current country of residence - Its canada and I put other for WHV, and the dates should I put when his working holiday visa started to the date next year when it finishes ? (living in canada from ___ to ___ .. or would "to" be the date of application?

I would put date to the expiry of WHV.

3) IMM 0008 asks for UCI .. is this something he should have from his working holiday visa? I cant seem to find it anywhere !

He may have one from the WHV, and if so he can certainly include the UCI# in the app. However UCI# is not very important so you can just leave it blank. My wife also have a WHV when we applied, and we just left UCI blank. CIC will assign you a number.

 

[NRSY]

thank you Rob_TO!!! much appreciated ;D

 

[NRSY]

Also! Does anyone know of any reasonably priced certified translators in the Toronto area?
Is $35/ document reasonable? I have never done this before!
I figure getting it translated by a certified translator is better than doing it from a bilingual friend then getting an affidavit and all of that stuff?

 

[Rob_TO]

Also! Does anyone know of any reasonably priced certified translators in the Toronto area?
Is $35/ document reasonable? I have never done this before!
I figure getting it translated by a certified translator is better than doing it from a bilingual friend then getting an affidavit and all of that stuff?

We paid $100 for 3 pages, so sounds like it's a reasonable price. If you go a real translator they should be able to do the translation and certification all at once.

 

[NRSY]

Great, Rob_TO! So I guess 35 per page isnt as bad as I thought!

more questions..

IMM 5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration)
-Does my partner list his military service even if it was just the mandatory 2 years of training service that all korean men have to do?

IMM 5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration), IMM 5406 (Additional Family Information)
-do both my partner (applicant) and I (sponsor) each fill out a separate form? (So we will have 2 of each of these forms?)
- If this is the case... for 5406 would I put my name beside spouse or common law partner, and his beside applicant on both of our forms, however the information after that ..mother father and info about brothers and sisters would be the only changes?

Thank you in advance!

 

[tcbaek]

Great, Rob_TO! So I guess 35 per page isnt as bad as I thought!

more questions..

IMM 5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration)
-Does my partner list his military service even if it was just the mandatory 2 years of training service that all korean men have to do?

IMM 5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration), IMM 5406 (Additional Family Information)
-do both my partner (applicant) and I (sponsor) each fill out a separate form? (So we will have 2 of each of these forms?)
- If this is the case... for 5406 would I put my name beside spouse or common law partner, and his beside applicant on both of our forms, however the information after that ..mother father and info about brothers and sisters would be the only changes?

Thank you in advance!

I did both for your questions, My hubby was in ROTC so I had a few more years to fill out but the last column I put Mandatory service, so I hope they realise that. And for the background declaration I did both documents for both of us...I figured its better to be safe than sorry!

 

[Rob_TO]

IMM 5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration), IMM 5406 (Additional Family Information)
-do both my partner (applicant) and I (sponsor) each fill out a separate form? (So we will have 2 of each of these forms?)
- If this is the case... for 5406 would I put my name beside spouse or common law partner, and his beside applicant on both of our forms, however the information after that ..mother father and info about brothers and sisters would be the only changes?

Note the forms are broken out into sections on the CIC page: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp
Part 1: Sponsorship forms - only the sponsor needs to fill these forms
Part 2: Immigration forms - only the applicant needs to fill these forms

So only the applicant needs to fill in the 5406 form. Though if sponsor did it also it wouldn't matter, CIC would just disregard it.